"Small businesses in North America look to familiar names who make an effort to help them" according to a recent conducted jointly by the Small and Medium Business Technology Alliance (SMBTA), and the American Small Business Travelers Alliance (ASBTA).
The survey, titled "The Mobile Professional Survey" named Microsoft, Intel, and Dell as the technology providers preferred by small businesses. It also revealed that small businesses rely most heavily on the Internet to learn about new technologies and pointed to some fantastic online resources for small business people.
These
results come as little surprise to us, since each of these three
technology companies makes a concerted effort to cater to the
specific needs of small businesses. Considering that all three
companies have created excellent small business resource centers on
their corporate Web sites, it is not surprising that small
businesses would heavily rely on these and other online resources for
technology education.
When asked what names they trusted most when choosing a technology product, a majority of survey respondents chose Microsoft in the software manufacturer category, Intel in the hardware manufacturer category, and Dell in the PC supplier category.
It's hard to sell directly to small
businesses, although they're probably the most loyal customers out
there and the big companies realize the importance of enticing them,
that's why they setup their online resources specifically targeted
at small business.
All three companies have dedicated a portion of their websites to small businesses, where they provide solutions, information and offers tailored to that segment. On those sites are such features as small business discussion groups on Microsoft's site, an ROI Small Business Analysis Tool on Intel's site, and a Point-of-Sale Solutions section on Dell's site. Both Microsoft and Intel offer free programs and events geared to help small businesses.
Many
technology companies do not seem to have taken notice of the fact
that small businesses require a different marketing approach than their larger counterparts
do, and that they also comprise a substantial
- and fast-growing - segment of the business community, so we
applaud the companies that have. Clearly, so do the majority of small businesses.
One key finding of the survey was that small businesses are ready to take up mobile technology solutions as a way of extending their reach beyond the confines of the traditional office. You'll find more on mobile solutions in this months newsletter in articles like "Access your small business PC from anywhere in the world" and "Remote Help!". Small business owners really want to have the "extended office", for them to compete with larger organizations, they need to be in front of the customer at all times.
As focus of this survey was to understand what small businesses were interested in, and the goal of The Technology Coach is to help small businesses to be more productive with technology, we've taken these findings and are running with them, developing trust in our customers minds is paramount to the success of The Technology Coach and in turn the success of our small business client base. We strive to be the small business technology company that your small business trusts most and we will be closely watching what the larger players in the industry are doing right so that we might be able to deliver the same level of service with an even more personalized touch.
Paula O'connell of O'connell Store fixtures recently wrote us saying:
“My business spent a long time looking for someone reliable we could trust with our Technology Needs, we must have worked with more than a dozen IT people before we finally found someone who we felt was a perfect match for our combination of needs and budget. The Technology Coach not only provides all the support and service we need to keep things running smoothly but also helps us have a better understanding of our technology, allowing us to make informed decisions without pushing useless new gadgets at us just for the sake of gadgets, I know when Scott recommends a piece of technology for my business that it truly is something that will bring benefits to the company and be good fit for our needs” - Thanks for the Kind Words Paula - Scott
We really do strive to help our small business client base by tailoring our communications and education programs to talk to specific issues and topics that relate to small business in our newsletters, online articles one on one training programs, coaching sessions and all advice, suggestions and help we provide, we're glad to see it's making a difference!
We truly believe that technology will help make your small businesses more productive both today and in the future and we strive to ensure our clients are taking full advantage of every profitable advancement that is available to them.
Give us a call today for a free small business technology analysis that will help us have a better understanding of how you run your business so that we can provide free advice and guidance on building a stable technology platform to not only support your business but to help it grow in the long term.
Office: 905-366-8234
